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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bound — obliged
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tube — a container
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bound — tied together
  17. stock — shares
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — money
  20. bound — certain
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. tube — the underground
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com